Small Businesses

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to increase the supply of credit to small businesses.

Ian Pearson: In addition to the establishment of the Lending Panel. The Government also announced at PBR 2008 a package to assist small and medium enterprises facing credit constraints.
	This package included the establishment of the Small Business Finance Scheme, a Export Credits Guarantee Department scheme, and a number of other actions. When combined this package will facilitate over£2 billion of extra support to SME's experiencing short-term financial difficulties.

Income Tax

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) average and he marginal rate of income tax is for each man who is a single earner with a wife and two children with earnings of (i) £10,000 a year and (ii) within each £5,000 band above £10,000 up to £200,000; how many such persons are in each income band announced in the Pre-Budget Report 2008; and how much such a person in each income band will have (A) as additional income and (B) to pay in tax and duties as a consequence of the measures.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 8 December 2008
	Income tax liabilities by income band for 2008-09 are provided in HM Revenue and Customs Statistics Table 2.5:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-5.pdf.
	The effect of tax measures announced in the PBR by income band is provided in the Government's response to the Treasury Select Committee's Thirteenth Report for 2007-08, 'Budget measures and Low Income Households', available at:
	www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtreasy.htm.

Public Expenditure

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government departments will be exempt from the allocation of the £5 billion of additional recoverable savings under the increased cross-Government value for money target for 2010-11, referred to in paragraph 6.32, page 122 of the Pre-Budget Report 2008.

Yvette Cooper: HM Treasury will work with Departments between now and Budget 2009 to agree the departmental allocation of the additional £5 billion value for money target announced in the pre-Budget report.

Public Expenditure

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what criteria the £5 billion of additional recoverable savings under the increased cross-Government value for money target for 2010-11, referred to in paragraph 6.32, page 122 of the Pre-Budget Report 2008, will be allocated.

Yvette Cooper: HM Treasury will work with Departments between now and Budget 2009 to agree the departmental allocation of the additional £5 billion value for money target announced in the pre-Budget report.

Public Finance

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a breakdown by principal policy decision of the increase in cyclically adjusted net borrowing by 4.3 per cent. of gross domestic product from the estimated outturn in 2007-08 to the estimate in 2009-10, as shown in the Pre-Budget Report table B4.

Yvette Cooper: The estimated cost of all policy decisions announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report can be found on Table B5 of Annex B (p 194).

Computing for Labour

Francis Maude: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 72WS, correcting the answer of 11 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1129W, 
	(1)  whether hon. Members from parties other than the Labour Party are able to subscribe to Computing for Labour's services under the terms of its agreement with the House authorities;
	(2)  what the evidential basis was for the original calculation of expenditure on Computing for Labour;
	(3)  what representations her Office received from  (a) the Labour Party and  (b) Computing for Labour following the publication of the original answer;
	(4)  if she will publish the individual expenditure by each hon. Member on payments to Computing for Labour in 2007-08.

Chris Bryant: The House authorities have no agreement with Computing for Labour to provide services to Members of Parliament. Hon. Members subscribe independently to Computing for Labour (CFL) for various services related to their duties as Members of Parliament. They are able to claim for such costs against their parliamentary allowances where they relate to parliamentary duties.
	The amounts paid to CFL are for subscriptions for software that is used for Members' parliamentary duties dealing with correspondence from constituents and other casework. As I outlined in the written ministerial statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 72WS, Members typically claim for an annual membership of £50. Most other claims are for £100 for the caseworker casework management system; £199 for related training; and £235 a year for relevant IT support via a support line.
	It is entirely a matter for Computing for Labour whether it is prepared to accept commissions from hon. Members who are not members of the Labour Party.
	The answer of 11 November 2008 was incorrect because the information was incorrectly provided by the Department of Resources, who inadvertently added data from an incorrect account code in the course of extracting and collating expenditure data from the House financial system. The Leader received no representations from the Labour party or from CFL following the publication of the original incorrect answer. As soon as the Department of Resources spotted the mistake the Member for Horsham's office were notified.
	In 2007-08, 228 hon. Members paid a total of £61,188 to Computing for Labour through the House of Commons. Other Members may have met costs directly and claimed reimbursement. The sums involved in the latter circumstance are not available.
	It is not the House's practice to disclose specific details of individual Members' expenditure.

Welcome to Britain Group

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  when representatives of the Welcome to Britain Group last met  (a) the Public Diplomacy Partners Group and  (b) the Public Diplomacy Board;
	(2)  how many VisitBritain staff work on the Welcome to Britain Group;
	(3)  on what dates the Welcome to Britain Group has met; and when the group next plans to meet;
	(4)  on what dates  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Department have met the Welcome to Britain Group in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 11 December 2008
	Visit Britain (VB) have advised that the Welcome to Britain Steering Group (WTBSG) have held quarterly meetings over the last 18 months and will meet again in February 2009. WTBSG last met on 1 December 2008. Members of the Public Diplomacy Partners Group (PDPG) attend these meetings. However, lead responsibility for the PDPG will shortly be passing to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	Visit Britain provide Welcome to Britain with one full-time head of project, one full-time manager and a small internal working group of between six to eight staff who meet bimonthly. Visit Britain is currently chair of the WTBSG.
	The WTB initiative is an integral part of the DCMS 2012 tourism strategy and as such is fully integrated within that. Although no meetings with Ministers have taken place, the most recent meeting with the Tourism Ministerial Advisory Group was on 28 October 2008 at the House of Commons.

CDC

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions took place  (a) between his Department and CDC in 2005 and 2007 and  (b) with the Treasury in 2007, regarding the possibility of extracting resources from CDC, as referred to on page 15 of the National Audit Office Report, Investing for Development: DFID's oversight of CDC Group Plc, HC (2008-09) 18.

Douglas Alexander: No discussions took place between DFID and CDC in 2005 regarding the possibility of extracting resources from CDC.
	During 2007 DFID had preliminary discussions with both CDC and the Treasury regarding the possibility of extracting resources from CDC in the shape of a dividend. These discussions took place within the context of the wider discussion around CDC's strategic direction. This contributed to the development of CDC's new investment policy, about which i made a written ministerial statement on 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 5WS.

Development Aid: Food

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's $1.4 billion funding allocation to improve global food security will be delivered through  (a) international institutions,  (b) non-governmental organisations and  (c) direct funding for national governments.

Michael Foster: Of the £865 million new commitments to improve global food security, £364 million, or 42 per cent., will be disbursed through international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research.
	£5 million, less than 1 per cent., will be disbursed directly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs). However, NGOs are often the implementing agents and therefore in-direct beneficiaries of funds to, for example, the social protection programme in Bangladesh (£83.5 million) and the UN Horn of Africa Humanitarian Appeal (£42 million).
	£295.5 million, or 34 per cent., will be disbursed to governments through budget support and funding to government sector programmes.
	A further £200 million, or 23 per cent., for agriculture research will be dispersed through regional research organisations, the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and public-private partnerships, for example, the Global Alliance for Livestock, Vaccines and Medicines.

Academies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had on the possibility of academy schools being sponsored by  (a) the Armed Forces and  (b) his Department; and what consideration he is giving to the establishment of a military academy school in Colchester.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 16 December 2008
	I have held discussions with my hon. Friend the Minister for Schools over the future of the Duke of York's Royal Military School, including the possible option of it becoming an academy, but no decisions have yet been made. While the MOD has no current plans to sponsor academies, service representatives often become involved with academies to represent service families as an interested party within the local community. In discussions with my hon. Friend the Minister for Schools, we agreed to look at encouraging the creation of academy schools with links to the local military community, in areas with historic military links and a large military presence, such as Colchester.

Armed Forces: Stress

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) officers and  (b) other ranks in (i) the Army, (ii) the Royal Air Force and (iii) the Royal Navy have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The MOD's Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) organisation has since July 2007 reported on the psychiatric morbidity of the UK armed forces, and quarterly reports for the whole of 2007 are now available both in the Library of the House and from the DAS A website: www.dasa.mod.uk. Verified data for the whole of the armed forces covering all deployments is not available prior to 2007.
	The DASA statistics report on the numbers of new attendances at MOD's Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs) during each quarter. The DASA figures for the number of personnel newly assessed with a mental health disorder are broken down by Service and by officers and other ranks, although the Service totals are not broken down by rank. The DASA figures also report the initial mental health assessment made during the patient's first appointment.
	The DASA figures are shown in the two tables, and refer to the calendar year 2007:
	
		
			  Service  Patients assessed with a mental health disorder  in 2007  Patients assessed with PTSD in 2007 
			 Royal Navy 510 18 
			 Royal Marines 89 17 
			 Army 2,316 122 
			 RAF 847 17 
			 Characteristics not known 155 6 
			 Total 3,917 180 
		
	
	
		
			  Rank  Patients assessed with a mental health disorder  in 2007  Patients assessed with PTSD in 2007 
			 Officers 251 9 
			 Other Ranks 3,511 165 
			 Characteristics not known 155 6 
			 Total 3,917 180

Carbon Emissions

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of  (a) UK and  (b) global carbon dioxide emissions in each of the next three years; what plans he has to encourage other governments to achieve emissions reductions in the short term; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Estimates of the projected annual emissions of carbon dioxide to 2011 are shown in the following tables for  (a) the UK and  (b) globally.
	The UK projected reductions are shown relative to 1990 levels, both with and without the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
	Projections for 2008 to 2011 were published in November 2008, and represent an update on the "Central Scenario" projection published in the Energy White Paper in May 2007.
	According to the International Energy Agency, global carbon dioxide emissions will rise on average by 1.6 per cent. between 2008 and 2011.
	The UK Government will continue to work with other governments through the United Nations Climate Change process, the EU, G8, other fora and bilaterally to reach a global agreement that reduces global greenhouse emissions.
	
		
			  Table (a) UK carbon dioxide emissions projections 1990 to 2011 
			  MtCO 2 
			   1990  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011 
			 UK CO2 emissions, central assumption without ETS 592.4 543.7 541.3 534.2 528.2 528.5 
			 Percentage CO2 emissions reduction without EU ETS relative to base year of 1990 n/a -8.2 -8.6 -9.8 -10.8 -10.8 
			 UK CO2 emissions, central assumption with ETS 592.4 518.1 508.9 506.0 504.2 503.8 
			 Percentage CO2 emissions reduction with EU ETS relative to base year of 1990 n/a -12.5 -14.1 -14.6 -14.9 -15.0 
			  Source:  UEP, DECC 2008. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b) Global CO 2  emissions 2008 to 2011 
			  MtCO 2 
			   2008  2009  2010  2011 
			 Global CO2 emissions, baseline (business as usual projection) 2008 28,906.0 29,368.5 29,838.3 30,315.8 
			  Source:  IEA, World Energy Outlook, 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he will reply to the letter to him of 15 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J. Lee.

Joan Ruddock: My Department does not have a record of receiving a letter from my right hon. friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 15 October in regard to Mr. J. Lee. My officials have contacted his office to request a copy.

Access NI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work has been undertaken to rectify the implementation issues experienced by Access NI upon taking over background checks from the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such work.

Paul Goggins: Additional staff have been appointed and the working hours extended. As a result of these actions I can confirm that AccessNI is now meeting its service standards.

Access NI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) resources and (b) personnel have been made available to Access NI in its first year of operation; and what assessment he has made of Access NI's ability to perform the functions it assumed from the Police Service of Northern Ireland regarding background checks.

Paul Goggins: AccessNI was established on 1 April 2008 and has been in operation for less than nine months. All necessary resources to enable AccessNI to achieve its service targets have been made available. This has included additional staffing, including both permanent and temporary, the creation of overtime at weekends and evenings and the provision of additional accommodation.
	Initially AccessNI had a total of 22 staff but due to the heavier than expected workload this number increased to its current total of 57 (or 63 if Identity and Passport Service Staff are included). This number includes both permanent and temporary staff.
	It is important to note that while criminal history searches for certain posts had previously been carried out by the PSNI, the checks carried out now are more stringent than in the past.
	I am pleased to report that AccessNI is now meeting all of its service standards.

Christmas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in the last three years.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 27 October 2008,  Official Report, column 743W, to the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) which provides information on the spend on Christmas functions in 2007-08.
	Attendance at and hosting of hospitality events including Christmas parties by departmental staff may be recorded in local hospitality registers, in accordance with Ministry of Justice policy. This data is not collated centrally, and gathering information from local registers (including operational establishments) would be possible only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department does not fund Christmas parties although staff may personally contribute towards the cost of such an event. At any time of year awards may be made through the reward and recognition scheme in line with departmental guidelines for team celebrations including modest parties.
	Spend on entertainment could be provided across the Ministry only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure on entertainment should be incurred in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety that are based on the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Committal Proceedings

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many committal hearings were held in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of committal hearings in each of those years.

Bridget Prentice: Committal hearings in the magistrates courts for the years 2003 to 2007 were: 51,492; 48,656; 47,939; 47,023; and 50,027. Cost data was not collated centrally prior to the creation of Her Majesty's Courts Services on 1 April 2005. Consequently, it is not possible to estimate the costs of committals in 2003 and 2004. The estimated costs of committals for the years 2005 to 2007 are: £5.6 million; £4.6 million; and £5.2 million.

Departmental Public Consultation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on which occasions her Department has convened a citizens' jury or randomly drawn panel of people to aid the Department's policy making since 2000; whether the participants were paid in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 22 October 2008,  Official Report, column 350W.
	My Department recognises the important contribution that the public can make in developing policy and carry out a wide range of activities which allow ministers and officials to listen to and understand the views of the public and stakeholders in developing policy.
	With regard to the period before Communities and Local Government was formed in 2006, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Canning Town to the hon. Member for North Swindon on 31 January 2006,  Official Report, column 420W and to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Maidenhead on 30 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1161W.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to increase the number of prosecutions brought for selling alcohol to a drunken person.

Alan Campbell: The majority of people who drink enjoy alcohol sensibly, but we are determined to take action to reduce the health and social harms caused by those who don't.
	The Government have recently announced actions to combat this problem. These include; a new mandatory code of practice to target the most irresponsible retail practices, a £3 million cash injection for CDRPs for enforcement activities in 198 areas. A further £1.5 million has been allocated to our priority areas where we are working closely with partnerships, making sure they make full use of all the powers available to them to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder.
	We have introduced new powers including alcohol disorder zones, directions to leave and expedited license reviews, plus we are encouraging greater use of existing powers such as designated public place orders to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder.
	In addition a responsible alcohol sales campaign took place in November and December 2007 which focused on enforcing the law concerning the sale of alcohol to those persons who were drunk. The campaign took place over four weekends and involved 30 police force areas. This campaign is part of a sustained drive by police and trading standards, as well as the alcohol retail industry, to clamp down on irresponsible retailers.

Prostitution

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average age of people working as prostitutes; on what research that estimate is based; and if she will place in the Library a copy of that research.

Alan Campbell: This information is not available.

Prostitution

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of prostitutes working in the UK who are  (a) women,  (b) men,  (c) under the age of 16,  (d) suffering from a drug addiction,  (e) homeless,  (f) supporting dependants and  (e) working for another person's gain; on what research each estimate is based; and if she will place in the Library a copy of that research.

Alan Campbell: This information is not available.

Clostridium

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines exist for the isolation of patients being checked for C. difficile infection before a diagnosis has been reached.

Ann Keen: Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Clostridium, difficile infection by a Department of Health/Public Health Laboratory Service Joint Working Group were published in 1994. These guidelines advise that "patients with diarrhoea and suspected of infection should be isolated". The guidelines are available on the Health Protection Agency (HPA) website, link:
	http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&Page&HPAweb AutoListName/Page/1179745281238?p=1179745281238
	A copy has been placed in the Library.
	This guidance is currently being reviewed and the new version will be published shortly.
	Further detail on isolation is available in the Guidance on Isolating Patients with Healthcare Associated Infection published by the Department of Health as part of the "Saving Lives" programme in 2007. As this document emphasises,
	"the correct and timely placement of infected patients (suspected or proven infection) into single rooms can be very effective in reducing the overall numbers of infected patients; it can also reduce the risk of colonisation in other patients within the ward."
	This document is available on the HPA's website at the same link as above and on the Clean, Safe care website, link:
	http://www.clean-safe-care.nhs.uk/public/default.aspx?level=2&load=Tools&NodeID=181
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Strokes

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated for stroke-related conditions in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and its predecessor trust in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
	Only data on hospital admissions and activity within hospitals is collected and not all incidences of strokes are treated within a hospital setting.
	The Department holds information on patients treated in an in-patient setting who have a diagnosis of stroke or late effects of a stroke recorded. Together, these do not cover all stroke-related conditions as there are a huge number of diagnoses a clinician may or may not include as being a result of a late effect of stroke.
	Information on the total admissions to hospital in which the patient had a primary diagnosis of stroke and total admissions in which a patient had a secondary diagnosis of sequelae (late effects) of stroke for Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust in years 2002-03 to 2006-07 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Primary diagnosis of stroke( 1)  Sequelae (late effects) of stroke( 2) 
			 2006-07 359 295 
			 2005-06 437 289 
			 2004-05 440 295 
			 2003-04 424 216 
			 2002-03 450 193 
			 (1 ) Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.  Primary Diagnosis of Stroke: 160—Subarachnoid haemorrhage 161—Intracerebral haemorrhage 162—Other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage 163—Cerebral infarction I64—X Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction. (2) Secondary diagnoses: As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Sequelae (late effects) of Stroke: 169.0—Sequelae of subarachnoid haemorrhage 169.1—Sequelae of intracerebral haemorrhage 169.2—Sequelae of other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage 169.3—Sequelae of cerebral infarction 169.4—Sequelae of stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction.  Notes: 1.  Quality of care: Data derived from HES cannot be used in isolation to evaluate the quality of care provided by national health service trusts or clinical teams. There are many factors that can affect the outcome of treatment and it is beyond the scope of HES to adequately record and reflect all of these. 2.  Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 3.  Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 4.  Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 5.  Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Information Centre for health and social care.

Social Security Benefits

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on free  (a) school meals and  (b) prescriptions for benefit claimants (i) in total and (ii) on average per benefit claimant in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families do not collect information on how much is spent on free school meals.
	Prescription data is not collected about patients, only about the number and cost of items dispensed.
	The information available in respect of England is in the following table.
	
		
			   Total number of items dispensed to benefit recipients( 1)  (Thousand)  Total net ingredient cost of items dispensed (£000) 
			 2003 73,340.6 823,208.9 
			 2004 77,347.4 900,858.5 
			 2005 78,540.7 888,754.0 
			 2006 80,525.8 913,349.2 
			 2007 80,947.6 899,138.0 
			 (1) These items are dispensed to recipients of the following (and their partner if they have one) who are automatically entitled to free prescriptions: income support; income-based jobseeker's allowance; working tax credit with child tax credit or working tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element and in either case whose annual gross taxable income is below a specified amount; and pension credit guarantee credit (applies only to partners under 60 as recipients are exempt on age grounds) (from October 2003, previously minimum income guarantee included with income support).  Notes: 1. The number of items is derived from a one in 20 sample of all exempt items dispensed in the community in England by community pharmacists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors. 2. The cost is in respect of net ingredient cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England for each of the last five years.  Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Data.

Learning Disability

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much funding is available to primary schools in  (a) the Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England for children diagnosed with specific learning difficulties in 2008-09;
	(2)  how much funding is provided for special education schools operating in  (a) the Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in 2008-09.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Funding data specifically for children diagnosed with specific learning difficulties is not collected by the Department. However, according to the available information, Lancashire LA's 2008-09 Section 52 Budget statement reports that maintained special schools planned expenditure in the Ribble Valley was £1.4 million and the maintained primary schools received an indicative SEN allocation of £1.9 million.
	The following table provides the planned net expenditure on the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs in Lancashire local authority and England for 2008-09.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Lancashire LA  England 
			 ISB for special schools (Table 1) 35,806,000 1,505,407,000 
			 Funding delegated to nursery schools identified as "notional SEN" 0 11,660,000 
			 Funding delegated to primary schools identified as "notional SEN" 30,938,000 1,152,319,000 
			 Funding delegated to secondary schools identified as "notional SEN" 29,019,000 879,302,000 
			 Total SEN funding delegated to schools 95,763,000 3,548,688,000 
			 Centrally retained SEN element of the school budget 23,452,000 1,185,141,000 
			 SEN element of the LA budget 7,357,000 365,229,000 
			 Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN 126,573,000 5,099,058,000 
			  Notes: 1. Includes planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with statements and the provision for non-statemented pupils with SEN, support for inclusion, inter authority recoupment, fees for pupils at independent special schools and abroad, educational psychology service, local authority functions in relation to child protection, therapies and other health related services, parent partnership, guidance and information, the monitoring of SEN provision and inclusion administration, assessment and co-ordination. Also included is the funding delegated to nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as "notional SEN" and the individual schools budget (ISB) for special schools. 2. The ISB for special schools will include some general education costs for pupils with SEN in addition to those costs specifically for SEN while the figures recorded against "notional SEN" are only indicative of the amount that might by spent by schools on SEN. During 2008-09 local authorities in England also budgeted £552.6 million for SEN transport expenditure but this is not included in the aforementioned table (Lancashire LA budgeted £14.8 million for SEN transport expenditure). 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and may not sum due to rounding. 4. The data are drawn from Local Authorities Table 2 of their Section 52 Budget statements. The statements are collected by DCSF under section 52 of the Schools Standard and Framework Act 1998. 5. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 10 December 2008.